Curiosity Solves
by AAHB
Summary: Sometimes, curiosity is the solution to solve a problem. For Maya, it was to gain one crucial truth. For Phoenix, it was for confirmation. Two Shots. Officially Complete, as the Announcement Chapter has been removed.
1. Chapter 1

It was another mundane and depressingly normal day in the office. Phoenix was watching TV on the couch, as usual. There was no client for today, which was both a blessing and a curse. He was worn out from investigating and cracking cases so this day off was something he was hoping to get. But actually getting the day-off itself was something he regretted in a heartbeat. Not only he had nothing to do, he had to take care of his assistant's pleas and spend too much money on unnecessary things and food.

Maya loudly yawned from the TV giving her no entertainment at all. There was no way to escape the evil clutches of boredom, especially if there was no exciting adventure to take. The weather reporter, that was on the TV, stated that there would be a pleasant afternoon for three days, before the clouds would start to thicken, darkening the sky. The spirit-medium felt so lazy that she slumped over to help relax her muscles.

Maya heaved out another loud yawn, forcing herself to sit up straight in the process. "This is boring, Nick." Moving her head to his direction with every ounce of energy she had, the girl witnessed the lawyer with a dull expression. She couldn't blame him for having that kind of expression plastered on his face.

But what started to piss her off was being ignored by the man she was talking to. Phoenix didn't seem to hear her as he was too absorbed in listening to the world news. Maya observed the lawyer as he took a peak at his watch to see what time it was. Nodding to himself, he picked up today's newspaper on the table in front and read the headline.

Maya couldn't take it anymore. It felt like she was being punished for being a naughty spirit-medium. That was ridiculous. She, a naughty one? She sighed and then scooted closer to Phoenix to call out at him. "NICK!"

Her scream fell deaf on the man's ears as he seemed too absorbed on reading sports section of the newspaper. Among the scores, he saw that the team who he was cheering for lost badly. The man took a deep breath to let out his feelings of disappointment. What a way to worsen the atmosphere he was already suffering. Can he get a proper break that would actually help him relax?

Maya's face was starting to become red from the increasing frustrations of being ignored and making her feel like she was talking to the air. Persistence running in her veins, she went to the table to sit in front of him, pulling the newspaper Phoenix was reading with her right hand, and glaring with daggers in her eyes on the man. "NICK! I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

Phoenix held his breath for a moment, trying not to inhale the bad breath of his assistant and also from getting scared. Gaining his composure, he looked at her with a nonchalant expression, like nothing drove him to the edge earlier. "Hey, Maya. Why didn't you just say so?"

Maya pouted, annoyed at the dumbest reply she could have received from him. They seriously need to break the curse of boredom they were experiencing right now, especially him. "Nick, you need to have fun for once!"

Diverting her gaze to the ceiling, she placed a fist on her cheek, using the other hand to support her elbow, as she thought a way to make things more interesting in the office, even if it was some dumb gimmicks they happen to invent. Glancing at the calendar that was hanged on the wall, she saw that the day was February 14th. Realising what she had just known, an idea struck inside her mind.

She innocently smiled at him as she placed both of her hands behind her back. "Say, it's Valentines Day today! So, Nick, do you have any crushes?"

The cycle looped itself as the lawyer gave no respond and read the newspaper again. He checked the gossip section, seeing a detailed info on how the Berry Big Circus is rising to fame. It felt like yesterday, he was defending the mascot of the circus itself, Max Galactica, as he used up all of his wits and critical thinking just to find the truth. And then today, the circus ended up being popular thanks to the employees who stopped the hate and decided to start back at square one.

After a moment with no reply, the spirit medium realises she was being ignored AGAIN. She groaned out loud, thinking to herself that he needed to do something more mentally stimulating than stare at newspapers all day. Something that would make her involved just to get away from doing nothing. Grudgingly accepting that she had to do it again, she took a deep breath, readying herself to bellow at the top of her lungs. "NICK! I'M ASKING YOU! WHO IS YOUR CRUSH?!"

The wind from Maya's awful breath was so loud and strong that it made Phoenix fall over to his side on the couch, the newspaper ended up flying upward then falling to his face. He flailed his hands in the air in a dazed manner. "I didn't crush anything..."

Maya tilted her head at the sight of the lawyer, who was still flailing his hands in the air as the newspaper was still in his face. "No! I mean who is your crush? It's Valentines Day today! I want to know!"

Phoenix could only hope his ears were going to last until his assistant finally becomes the Master of the Kurain Village. He really need to had his ears checked if they were damaged severely or not. The man regained his composure as he sat up straight from the couch, the newspaper ignored and now beneath his shoes. He was not receptive of whatever she had in mind. "Maya, that's a holiday for kids."

Phoenix had taken no interest in a holiday like Valentine's Day. In fact, he'd had almost forgot that the holiday even existed. What was the purpose of that holiday, anyway? Typical people who had no significant other just moaned about not having a date for the day, and the fact that some women took advantage of this day to fish out gifts from their suitors.

"Says a grown-up who still cannot drive." Maya rolled her eyes and playfully stuck her tongue out him. It was a total embarrassment to hear Nick having no knowledge on driving.

Phoenix could only sighed in defeat. Speak for yourself. She couldn't even outstrip Pearly's powers and SHE'S next in line to be the master. He wondered how would she take the responsibility of being a fully-grown adult one day.

"Come on, Nick! Say it! Share your secret with me!" The spirit medium persisted as she leaned toward the attorney, determined to not be denied an honest answer. This was her ticket to lead them out of boredom.

In an attempt to derail the conversation, Phoenix averted his gaze back to the TV while trying to get his view away from Maya. The TV showed a brunette woman being interviewed for revealing the truth about a rumor. "I'm not going to do that because there is no secret to share."

His efforts soon fell to the bottom as the spirit medium mirrored his view, blocking the TV in the process, as she flail her arms in the process. "Nope. I must see the truth!"

Phoenix only shook his head in return as he pushed the girl to the side. Maya almost fell over as she struggle to keep her balance on the sudden move. The man returned to his seat as he continue to watch the news on TV. Knowing that she had to squeeze out an answer somehow, she remember the green Magatama she gave to him few years ago. Knowing exactly where he placed it, Maya went back to sit beside him while innocently glancing back and forth between him and the TV. She carefully slid a hand to his pocket, trying to get the Magatama unnoticed. The lawyer didn't seem to notice the movement on his pocket as the girl was successful on extracting the item.

Maya stifled her laughter as many thoughts ran inside her head on what to ask him as she had the Magatama in tow. She could imagine Phoenix on his knees, sweating bullets, begging for her to stop the madness. Or he would blindly obey her command to buy whatever she wants to have just to be in her safe side. Demonic laughter escaped her lips as she thought more and more of the endless possibilities of what she could do with him.

But she would be later snapped back to reality as Phoenix snapped his fingers in front of her. "Earth to Maya. Hey, Maya! Don't leave me alone to be bored!"

Her evil grin was still on her face. "Are you sure you're not lying, Nick?"

The lawyer could only gulp from the sudden shift of atmosphere around them. "Uh, yeah. I am."

The spirit medium grimly chuckled at his lies as she took out his Magatama. Upon seeing that, Phoenix immediately felt his pocket to check if it was there. Lo and behold, it wasn't; he was pick-pocketed by her own assistant. His eyes went wide as his jaw nearly dropped on the floor."HOW DID YOU GET THAT?!"

Maya shoved it toward his face with a mocking grin. "Tell me, Nick! Do you have any crush?"

Phoenix wondered for a brief moment how he always gets into these childish predicaments with his assistant. "I'm not into that kind of stuff, Maya." Realising how idiotic he was being for falling to her antics, he had to get the upper hand of this ordeal. "Besides, since we're on the subject, do YOU have any since you're younger than me?"

A sly smirk appeared on her lips, her eyebrows wiggling. "As a spirit-medium in training, trivial stuff like this is not on my mind. And since you're an ADULT, you need to get married soon, you know? She nudged the side of his stomach while giggling at the sight of his soured expression. She anticipated the man to be already in his fifties yet he still had no lover.

This got into Phoenix's nerve like a lightning struck a pole in a windy day. "Wh-What? I'm still in my early twenties!" He never really did feel the pressure of finding a significant other. Nor was it extremely important to date someone for his current age. What was even special about this day of the month?

Maya shook her head. Nick really need to get a woman soon when she was out training. No one would take care of the office since she knew that he would not try to clean it up and possibly make the area dangerous to live in. She placed her hands on her hips with a stern look on her face, enforcing her position as his personal marriage radar. "Nope. Not on my watch." Her signature smile returned as she wiggled a finger in front of him. "I'll ask you again. Do you have any crush, Nick?"

Phoenix gazed at the ceiling, planning on what to reply to her. Maya may be a clumsy woman, but she can spot lies like it was her work. He heaved out a genuine sigh. "I haven't been interested in any woman since I was twenty-one. There, that's all I'm saying."

But Maya would not fall to his smooth-talks. The Magatama discharged a small amount of energy as Maya witnessed the room in complete darkness, silver chains surrounded the lawyer with a lone red Psyche-Lock was secured on the center of his chest. Her eyes lit up, as if she spotted gold, enlarging her smile on her lips.

That look. He remembered making that exact expression several times when the Magatama spotted a hidden secret. Knowing what he usually felt when he spots someone hiding something, he felt his stomach nearly falling to the floor. He could feel his nape getting sweaty just by staring at her evil smirk toward him. "...No way. Did you really see-"

He was interrupted by her insidious-sounding giggle from his assistant. Phoenix gulped in fear for the future of his life when she happened to spot the lie he was keeping from her. With that maniacal expression she had, he was close on getting his chance to see the afterlife.

"To get to the truth, I must show proof!" Maya sprinted to the attorney's desk in a flash, rummaging through drawers to drawers, various items flew in the air as she toss it out from the cabinet.

Phoenix felt extremely agitated at the sight he was seeing. Not only was his desk recently cleaned by his own two hands, it was severely ruined thanks to his assistant by creating one huge mess on the area. But what could he do? Obviously, he's not so low as to hit a woman, even if what she was doing was unreasonable. He could sigh in defeat, hoping it would end as soon as possible. "That file cabinet isn't your personal toy box, Maya!"

Maya ignored his desperate plea as she continue to investigate every items she could retrieve and then tossing them away. "Junk, junk, and more junk." She shook her head in disbelief as she placed both of her hands in her hips. She glanced at him with a matter-of-fact look. "Geez, Nick! You need to clean your file cabinet every day of the week!"

How ironic. His assistant was the one who messed things up, and she placed the blame on him. He wondered how long would he able to take this kind of attitude of hers before he finally snapped back at her, hurting her severely that it may cost him to not see his late mentor again.

Unable to find any solidifying evidence, she closed the file cabinet in frustration. "Aw, what a bummer. I can't seem to get a solid proof..." Maya placed a hand under her chin to think for a moment, scanning the discombobulated desk she had unleashed. "Hmm, what does Nick show to people when there's no proof?" An answer popped from her mind. She was a genius for remembering this vital technique! "Ah, of course! Profiles!" She clasped her hands together as she turned to look back at him, maintaining her insidious expression.

Phoenix tiredly shook his head. There was absolutely no point on continuing this little game of hide secrets and seek information."Just... let it go, Maya."

"But I see a Psyche-Lock. It's time to crush that lock into dust!" Her persistence would not be swayed. The spirit-medium pumped her fist with confidence written on her face. She knew she had the ability to break the lone lock. This would be a piece of cake!

Maya jumped back from the couch as she let out a sigh of relief. Leaving the desk in its state would be a job for another day. Phoenix could not believe that not only his assistant invaded his personal space, she also did not cleaned up the mess she initiated. Oh, how he hoped he would still maintain his black, spiky hair when he reached his thirties, and his young, baby skin handsome face. He almost wondered how he was still sane.

Maya innocently smiled at him as she wiggled her eyebrows. "So, Nick! As your Ace Assistant, you must share your secret to me, no matter how dark it is!"

Phoenix started to sweat bullets as he always did whenever he felt flustered and bewildered. He scratched the back of his head while nervously grinning back at her. "I have nothing to hide. The Magatama must be playing tricks or something."

Maya would not fall for his blatant lies. She presented the Magatama in front of his face with an evil smirk. The room was enveloped in the darkness as the chains returned to surround the attorney, with a lone lock keeping it close. "The Magatama never plays tricks, Nick! All I need to do is to say a name of a person!"

"Hmm... First on the list is me!" A sly smile curved on her lips. "Do you have a crush on me, Nick? Pearly will be happy to hear it."

Her left eye twitched as she silently pray that it would be a no. Maya never saw Phoenix as a romantic partner, nor even had a crush on him at one point. She saw him only as someone she could depend on, a close friend that would always help her when she was in grave danger. He's someone that accepted her for how perky she was, just like Pearly and her late sister Mia. Thanks to her sister, she had someone to rely on and to remind her always of her sister.

Phoenix froze at the sudden outburst she made. He didn't moved a muscle for half a second, his jaw felt like it was going to detach itself and fall down on the ground, his eyeballs close to falling out of their sockets. Snapping back to reality, he let out a loud, frustrated groan, remembering the time Pearls scolded him when he was seemingly "seeing other women" than his assistant. "Maya, no. Any guy that's actually in a relationship with you would sooner run to the hills away from you as fast as humanly possible."

Ouch. That felt like a punch her gut. She leered at him in great annoyance, puffing her cheeks to express her anger. "Hey! That's mean!" She quickly brushed the quip aside, crossing her arms as she shook her head. "Hm, guess it's not me. If you do, though, you would have bought me much food to eat. Ah, what a waste."

The attorney shook his head in haste. He was so glad she wasn't going ballistics to the fact that he does not harbor warm feelings for her. "No, Maya. Any food you are given to is a waste. Unless it's burgers," Rolling his eyes, an image of Maya consuming a large pile of burgers was something he would post up on the office's wall as decoration, if his assistant happened to passed away from her cravings for burgers. "Those things are a capsule of high cholesterol."

So it was not herself. Maya's eyes sparkled at the thought of another person he could possibly had crush on. "How about Pearly? Do you have a crush on Pearly?"

Phoenix nearly fell back on his side out of pure bewilderment. He could not believe that out of all the possible women she could tease, it had to be little Pearls. His eyes lit up as he gave her a disgusted glare. "SHE'S ONLY NINE YEARS OLD! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

Maya's eyes went shut as she covered her ears as she feel her ears rung from the boisterous outbursts."Geez, Nick! You don't have to yell at me!"

The attorney deeply scowled. "Don't ask me about children, then!"

She placed a fist on her chin, keeping his words in mind. "I guess that's not how love works."

Upon hearing that statement, Phoenix got a nagging feeling that she's oblivious to pedophilia which made him very unease. He shuddered at the thought of teaching it to her one day, and other terms she should know.

Maya snapped her fingers as another answer arrived on her mind. "Oh! I know! Franziska Von Karma!" Her signature smirk returned as she mischievously wiggled her eyebrows. "She might be using her whip as a way to express her love to you!"

Phoenix wouldn't even bother to humour that statement with a response. He rolled his eyes as a response instead. Oh what the attorney would not give to use the whip as a way to express his desire to shut her up. He was almost starting to regret giving the whip back to Edgeworth. Then again, his assistant would be the one who will get the hands on the whip, no matter how hard he tries to keep it away from her.

Maya seemed to be at an impasse since she was making no progress on her objective. She whined, sadly pouting. "Aw, still no lock breaking? Come on, Nick!" She leaned closer to the attorney, making him back away in the process. Her pouting increased as she had a puppy eyes on with puffy cheeks. "I'm your trustworthy assistant! Can you give me one clue, please?"

How many times does he have to remind her that he had no interest in her gimmicks? "Maya, like you, I have a profession that's important to me. Dating is down in my priority agenda."

"But the Magatama says otherwise." She stuck her tongue out, not going to give up. She was getting trouble coming up with names of women they're both familiar with. "Hmm, who else..."

The camera woman Lotta would be out of the list, since she was positive that Nick hates her guts. Nor the witnesses they had encountered. Nor the accused. Of course, even that Iris woman he actually dated years ago. Ah! How could she forgot! She raised her finger in the air, her face beamed in excitement. "Oh, Sis! Do you have a crush on Sis, Nick?"

"Huh? Sis? You mean Mia?" Phoenix caught himself hesitating for a moment. He almost wondered why he did. He hoped that Maya will not notice anything strange about it.

Maya was baffled toward him for forgetting her sister. Recovering from the strike of bemusement, she deeply scowled at him, offended at his outburst. "Who else? Answer the question! Don't tell me you forgot about her!" Even though she was long gone, Maya would demand respect for her older sister when it felt like she wasn't getting it.

Phoenix was not fazed on her intimidating glare. "...Maya, why would I have a crush on a dead person?" Realising how rude it sounded, he mentally apologised to Mia for speaking about her like that.

The assistant didn't moved a muscle, her glare was still intact. "Don't change the subject, Nick. Yes or no?"

He paused, shooting a glance away from her. "...No." He said no but why did it felt like he was forced to say that?

She was having a hunch that this could be the lead and opening she needed. "...Are you sure?"

He quietly gulped, trying to look as calm and nonchalant as possible. "...Yes."

Smiling, she leaned forward, not taking her eyes off him. "Was that a brief pause I witnessed?"

"No."

Phoenix could feel his stomach churning at the gleaming expression his assistant was having on whatever she was thinking right now. He only hoped that she would not jump on that conclusion or else he would be doomed forever. If Pearls ever knew about this conversation, he wondered if he would live to see the day of light again.

Maya giggled in satisfaction, pointing her right index finger at the attorney. "Don't lie to us, Nick. It's crystal clear. You're hesitating to answer, which could only be explained in one logical reason!"

Phoenix's stomach nearly sank again and felt the urge to vomit as he thought about the meaning of 'us'. Did Mia actually "eavesdropped" on their conversation?

"It's clear that you do have crush on Sis!" Proving her point, she teasingly rubbed his cheek as a sly grin was plastered on her lips.

It was then that the red lone Psyche-lock shattered, the chains removing in the process. Phoenix conceded defeat, begrudgingly accepting the fact that he lost at the hands of his assistant's annoying antics once again. "There's no hiding things from you, is there?" But in his mind, he could feel a sense of relief. Could be from the pressure being taken off of him to win the battle? Also what was going to happen now that his hidden feelings for his mentor rose to the surface and is now exposed?

Maya pointed her thumb at herself, smirking at her victory. "I'm your Ace Assistant! It's not just a title! I can spot lies when they make lies!"

He rolled his eyes, finding it incredibly stupid. "I don't remember you spotting lies for me in trials much."

Maya ignored his comment as she quickly rushed to his side, eager to hear the truth from him. "So, Nick! Why do you have a crush on Sis?" The girl gave him a quick nudge on his side.

He wasn't going to get anywhere by resisting anymore so he tried to think on what to answer to his nosy assistant. But his assistant abruptly covered his mouth. Maya had a cunning thought in mind that even the attorney could not say no. "I have a better idea! Tee-hee!"

Phoenix scowled at his perky assistant. "You asked for my reasons, but you're not going to bother to hear them?"

"Close your eyes, Nick! No peeking!" She gave him a wink. This would turn the tables around. She could not wait any longer.

The attorney felt his head banging like a gong from all the annoying antics his assistant was pulling on him. Frustrated, wanting to appease the girl's thirst for playtime, he turned around and closed his eyes. The attorney hoped it would be over as soon as possible.

Her sister would LOVE this one, and if she was alive, her sister would definitely gave her a beneficial reward like unlimited orders for food. Grinning, using a piece of scrap paper she got on the dirty desk, she wrote down a small letter. She stifled her laughter, not wanting to draw his attention. As she was done writing, she held the lone letter in front of her, the contents of the letter was clear to her vision.

_Sis! I have good news! Nick's in love with you! No lie!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Since I forgot to give credits...**

**Kimmo: **Phoenix Wright

**Me: **Mia Fey

**This is outdated, the date it was written is the same time the first chapter is posted. I apologize for the drop of quality.**

* * *

Curiosity plagued his mind as Phoenix waited for his assistant's signal. He wondered what was going on. Was Maya secretly placing a pill to a drink she was about to give to him, so she could steal his wallet and buy a bunch of burgers? Or was she calling Pearl over so he would receive a serious "make-up" from the child for not being in love with her? Or maybe she was setting traps for her new pranks and had him as the test subject. After a few more seconds of waiting, enough is enough for the lawyer. Phoenix turned around to face his assistant who has her head down, blocking her face from his view, as she was holding a piece of paper.

The lawyer was more intrigued as he spotted a small smile from her, which was not the typical smirk he sees from her. Also, she appeared to be taller than few seconds ago. This was starting to get weird. "Maya, what are you doing? Did you pull something from out of my desk again?"

The tone of her voice made his eyebrows quirk as the supposed Maya gave out a soft giggle. "Oh, no. Maya didn't snoop on your desk again. She wrote something interesting for me."

He was starting to get more and more confused. Maya didn't snooped around? But, wasn't the girl he was talking to his perky assistant? Wait. This could not be. No way. Just... no way! Phoenix realized the situation too late. The maturity of her voice, her sudden growth of height and the enlargement of her bosom triggered the button to summon forth the thousand daggers aimed to his soul. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT?!"

The woman he was talking to now was his late mentor and special friend, Mia Fey. Oh, of all times, why was she channeled NOW?! That clever girl. He needed to get revenge on Maya soon, but before that, he had to deal with the current situation. With that note at her hand, who knows what juicy information Maya shared to her sister.

Mia gently placed the note down on Phoenix's desk as she giggled amusingly at him, arms crossed under her chest and with a smile that came more from being amused at the situation. "Is that how you greet an old friend, Phoenix?"

Phoenix felt himself flustered and perplexed at this whole situation. It felt like he just walked into a trap of honey with bees swarming at him. "Hang on! What is going on here?!"

Mia wouldn't be fooled. She knows her student all too well. "Playing innocent will not get you out of this, Phoenix." She still maintained that smirk while titling her head slightly to one side.

Phoenix pointed at his desk while frantically waiving his right pointing finger around. "I'm not playing innocent! What is written on that paper?!"

"I'll read it out loud for you." She gently picked up the paper and read it aloud slowly. "'Sis! I have good news! Nick's in love with you! No lie!'"

The attorney blushed, knowing he had the carpet swept right from under his feet. "Maya...you little conniving..."

Before he had a chance to generate an excuse, the mature woman set the note down back on Phoenix's desk. "Maya never lies."

"What do I even say now?!"

Mia glanced over at the calendar that's to the right of the door leading out of the office. "Today's February fourteen, right?" She let out a giggle at his reddened face. "Looks like Maya squeezed out a dirty little secret from you."

"Ugh...uh...look here...uh...hey..." Flabbergasted, the attorney's brain was still struggling to register that his hidden feelings for his mentor were out.

"Yes...?"

After saying to himself that it's only Mia and that Maya wasn't with them at the moment, he calmed down. "Well... no point in trying to scramble out. But... okay. I... have some feelings for you..."

At that moment, Mia's face flushed a bit, too as she let out another giggle at the attorney. "I'm feeling a bit young again. So, how about a little date? Maya will be happy if I fill up her stomach."

When she said things like that, it was...never mind. What did Mia said again? Right on cue, his mind replayed her words. "A-A-A date? Does that mean...does that mean that-" Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the Magatama lying on the couch. He quickly made a grab for it and regained its possession.

Phoenix thought to himself that the only way to get to the center of Mia's secret was through words alone. He had no evidence to get to support his argument. "Okay. Before we go on a date, let's play a game."

On cue, his surroundings darkened as a lot of chains wrapped itself in front of Mia. It possessed five red Psyche-Locks.

"A Magatama? You suspect me of lying?" Mia innocently smiled, not feeling intimidated by the green mystical item.

Phoenix returned Mia's smirk, feeling up to the challenge of outwitting his mentor. "Well, like Maya said, the Magatama doesn't lie. So why don't we stop being sly cats and get on with this?"

Mia's eye glinted in curiosity. "Oh? What do you think I'm hiding?"

Phoenix scratched the bottom of his chin to think for a moment. "Let me take an educated guess. I'm willing to wager... that you have feelings for me, too."

Mia let out yet another giggle, eager to see where Phoenix is going with is argument. "What made you say that?"

"First of all, you suggested a date without me saying anything. Also, I noticed your cheeks got a lit-tle rosy." Phoenix let out a smile at his mentor to let him know that it was really true.

Mia flicked a strand of hair with one hand. "What's wrong with those two? This date is only friendly. It's been a while since I last heard a compliment from someone."

"A compliment?" That was his opening to strike her with words. "Since when is professing love only a compliment? I think it's a serious matter of the heart, don't you think Mia?"

"Now that you mention it..." She found herself unable to answer that. Her smile faltered, as he saw a lock break, leaving four more to go.

"I would hardly consider being loved a compliment. In fact, I feel it quite touching. I would think if you didn't feel the same way you would have moved on while gently putting me down." He felt himself smiling more smugly now. "Furthermore...you wouldn't even have suggested the date in the first place." Another lock break in response to his statement.

Mia felt the snowball effect going against her. She found herself unable to retaliate. She gripped her hands on her forearms in response. After a moment, she recovered her stance and gave him a small smirk. "Well, I'd say you're not out of the woods yet. I told you, our date is only friendly and it's for fulfilling Maya's stomach."

"Then why are your locks breaking?" Phoenix gave him a playful wink.

Mia sidestepped the question, never giving in to his game. "You still don't have me on the edge of the corner yet. I'll ask you something this time, why are you bothering to break my locks?"

Phoenix intensified his stare at her to show his determination. "Because I want to know the truth, Mia. Is hiding secrets supposed to be how it is between old friends?"

"Is forcing a secret out of each other what old friends do?" Mia countered back.

"Touché. However, why do you feel the need to hide it from me?" Phoenix asked as he held the note Maya wrote in his hand.

"What about it?" Mia cocked her head on the side. "It's about uncovering the truth in you."

Phoenix tapped the paper a few times. "It's not about uncovering the truth in me... It's about how it was written."

Mia smiled as she came up with a question for Phoenix to answer. "Can you give me an answer as to what's so intriguing about how it's written?"

"I noticed that Maya was quite excited to tell you that I have feelings for you. Now let's see. Why would someone report it like it was 'good news'?"

The mature woman found herself unable to look at Phoenix in the eye. "I-it's nothing out of the ordinary. It's just how Maya works." She knew her efforts where futile, but that didn't gave her an excuse to stop covering herself up and give the easy victory to his protege.

Phoenix shook his head a few times. "No. I don't think so. First of all, she told me to turn around and close my eyes. It seems as though she was trying to be discreet about it."

She felt herself on the edge but also felt happy that Phoenix was close to figuring her out. "Perhaps she wanted to surprise you about it, that's why. Maya's always up for mischievous tricks. I remember that she does that to me, too."

Unfortunately for Mia, she failed to realize there was a singe lock left for him to uncover. Phoenix tapped the note again. "But here's the second thing. Again, it's how it's written. Aside from how she said it's 'good news' she also had to reiterate that it's no lie. That can only mean that Maya was reporting that the feelings were mutual!"

A moment silence fell between them for a moment. A wide smile curved on Mia's face, signaling how proud she's feeling for her. "Phoenix, you really grown. I'm glad that I've witnessed how strong your quick-thinking and analytic skills became from the years I've stuck with you. You got me, fair and square." The last lock broke down and the chains retreated, slowly returning the room to normal.

Phoenix smiled a bit, feeling satisfied that his mentor loved him back.

"I guess it's time so share my secret to you. You better have your ears cleaned, Phoenix." Mia giggled at him.

Phoenix blushed a bit while scratching the back of his head. The way she giggled was too adorable for him, it was a pleasure to always hear her laugh. He cleared his throat to compose himself."Well...go on..."

Mia started to explain herself while looking up at the ceiling from slight nostalgia. "About my second trial that I defended you in, I once told Maya about how I abruptly hurt Mr. Grossberg for no reason at all. She seemed to have gotten the hint before I did."

"...Hmm?" That was interesting to hear from Mia. He scratched his chin a bit, wondering which one it was but he soon remembered. "Oh... that case." He grouched at the memory that was resurfacing on his head. "Ugh... don't remind me. I had a cold and I was hacking away." Come to think about it... He realized he didn't even remember getting sick much since that time.

Mia helped herself to a seat on the couch next to the filing cabinet in the corner. "I admit that I had a crush on you at that particular time. I'd get jealous whenever you talk about her, so I ended up venting my frustration to Mr. Grossberg. That's what Maya told me, though. She already had some knowledge about how these kinds of things work, thanks to the show she watches on TV."

Phoenix palmed himself in the face as he took a seat next to Mia. "I don't think you should believe EVERYTHING you see on TV."

"Lecture Maya, not me!" Mia said as she turned to the side, facing away from Phoenix. She crossed her arms and felt her cheeks puffed, similar on how Maya displayed her disapproval.

"Let's just say that my words fall on deaf ears whenever I do so."

Mia looked down as she sighed, shaking her head while doing so. "Typical Maya. But to be honest, it was foreign to me. I got more fired up than usual when you talked sweetly about her."

Phoenix looked up at the ceiling while relaxing on the couch. "Looking back on it, I should have listened more closely to Doug. There's just something innocent but sinister about that girl. All the lives she's ruined..." He shuddered at the thought about remembering that girl's face. She would be the definition of how looks can be deceiving.

"Yes, true." She turned back to look at Phoenix, who then made eye-contact with her. "Um, Phoenix? Are you still up to date me?"

Phoenix abruptly stood up from the couch. He almost forgot that he scored a date with Mia, albeit almost a real one. "Oh-uh! Yeah! Although... it'd be better if you were... you know... still in your real body. But I'm really up for it."

Mia smirked at him. "You wanted to kiss me, didn't you?" She teased.

The attorney's face flushed deep red. However, he didn't deny it. Feeling her lips would feel... nice to him. Well, if he would had a chance right now..."If I did that right now, would I be doing that to you or Maya? Because technically this IS her body."

Mia tilted her head to one side at that note. "I prefer if you didn't kiss me while I'm like this. Maya will definitely not be happy with the result. Speaking of my body, Maya told me there was no proper burial... What happened to my body?"

An air of mystery suddenly surrounded them. "...Even I don't have the answer to that. In fact...why can't I even remember anything about it...?"

"You can't remember...?" Mia felt surprised to see this from Phoenix.

"This is strange... that time, when Mia. Ah... what? That's the last time I've seen her body... and I haven't seen it since..."

"Let's go back on that subject some other time." She gave him a reassuring smile. "I think it's better if you discussed that with Maya. She might have some answers." Deep inside her mind, she wondered why did Maya never told her about the status of her body.

It was all so strange. Maya seemed to know something that both Mia and Phoenix didn't. Where is Mia's body? Where was it? The last time he saw her body was... in this office.

Phoenix slowly nodded his head at her. "...Okay. I'll ask again later."

"So, where are we going, Phoenix." Mia curiously asked. She didn't know many places to eat around town.

"Hmm... Ah!" He had an idea. To celebrate their time together, Phoenix wanted to make it as extravagant as he could. "The Gatewater Hotel. We'll have a grand time there."

"A grand time? Are you sure you have enough to pay your monthly bills?" Mia asked with a little bit of worriment but she was half-sure Phoenix had a way of getting enough money.

With all of Phoenix's strength, he pulls from a secret place, giant jar container that has a lot of dollar bills jammed inside.

Mia's eyes widened. She didn't remember ever seeing something like this on Phoenix's person. "Where in the world did you get this?!" Mia asked with genuine surprise.

"I have my sources." He answered her rather ambiguously.

Mia shook his head at her former student. It seemed as though she still had a bit of things to learn about him. "Shall we go?"

"Sure. Wait. Let me ask one more thing. then, that letter... When you written to Maya about 'Taking care of Phoenix.' You meant me and not the office...right?"

"We'll have a lot time to catch-up, and that's one of the things we'll catch up on. I'll answer every question you have for me once you kindly escort me there." Mia winked at him as she smiled.

"Thanks..."

Phoenix walked over to the door and opened it with his left hand. With his left hand on the doorknob, he held out his right hand to hold Mia's like a gentleman.


End file.
